Written Answers

Thursday 21 December 2000

Scottish Executive

Air Accident

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S1W-4517 and S1W-4518 by Colin Boyd QC on 20 March 2000, whether it has considered the recent findings of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in relation to the crash of the Chinook ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994 and, if so, what action it intends to take.

Colin Boyd QC: The Public Accounts Committee Report Ministry of Defence: Acceptance of the Chinook Mk 2 Helicopter  has been considered. The committee was critical of the acceptance procedure and critical of the RAF Board of Inquiry. It considered that it was "very difficult to rule out categorically a technical fault as at least a contributory cause" of the crash but the committee did not identify any factor which might make it possible to go higher than that so as to be likely to cause the Sheriff to reconsider his conclusion that he was unable to determine the cause of the accident and that he should not speculate. Indeed the committee stated its belief that the Ministry of Defence should be guided by the conclusion of the Sheriff. This being so, it appears to me that the position remains as stated in my letter of 19 May to Mr MacAskill: it is highly unlikely that anything that has come to light since the Fatal Accident Inquiry would alter the Sheriff’s determination. Accordingly, I do not propose to take any further action on this matter.

Autism

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4886 by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000, whether it will present the information in the table alongside the total school population of children under the age of 12 in each local authority area.

Nicol Stephen: Further to the answer to question S1W-4886, statistics from the September 1999 School Census have become available. The information requested is therefore provided in the tables below for 1998 and 1999.

  1998 Autism Table

  


Local Authorities


No. of Pupils aged 
under 12 with Autism


Total school population 
aged under 12




Aberdeen City


33


17,327




Aberdeenshire


51


21,790




Angus


7


9,451




Argyll & Bute


12


7,955




Clackmannanshire


*


4,946




Dumfries & Galloway


14


12,994




Dundee City


6


12,582




East Ayrshire


*


11,346




East Dunbartonshire


17


10,806




East Lothian


11


8,335




East Renfrewshire


17


8,913




Edinburgh, City of


55


34,792




Eilean Siar


*


2,455




Falkirk


15


12,598




Fife


42


30,789




Glasgow City


77


51,568




Highland


71


19,141




Inverclyde


13


7,929




Midlothian


14


7,512




Moray


21


8,165




North Ayrshire


9


12,707




North Lanarkshire


41


29,997




Orkney Islands


*


1,849




Perth & Kinross


15


11,612




Renfrewshire


24


15,732




Scottish Borders


7


9,046




Shetland Islands


7


2,315




South Ayrshire


8


9,729




South Lanarkshire


38


27,747




Stirling


*


7,159




West Dunbartonshire


*


8,960




West Lothian


13


14,983




Scotland


658


453,230




  Notes:

  1. The data was collected by the annual school census in September 1998.

  2. The figures include:

  i. Children attending special schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, whether or not they have a formal Record of Needs. Pupil age was based on the census date of 14 September 1998.

  ii. Children attending mainstream primary schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, who have a Record of Needs. Dates of birth are not available for these pupils – all pupils attending primary schools have therefore been considered as within the scope of the question whereas those at secondary have not.

  iii. Pupils attending both publicly funded and independent schools.

  3. The figures do not include:

  i. Pupils with autism that also have another learning difficulty which is recorded as their main difficulty.

  ii. Any pupils with autism attending mainstream primary schools but who have not had a Record of Needs established.

  iii. Children with autism but who are not attending school - they may be too young to attend school or they may be educated elsewhere.

  4. Where a pupil attends a special needs school in one local authority but is funded by a different local authority, the pupil has been shown under the funding authority. All pupils attending primary schools are shown under the local authority of that school.

  5. In order to preserve confidentiality and in keeping with normal statistical practice, figures have been suppressed for cells with less than five pupils. These have been indicated by an *.

  1999 Autism Table

  


Local Authorities


No. of pupils aged 
under 12 with Autism


Total school population 
aged under 12




Aberdeen City


37


17,018




Aberdeenshire


58


21,518




Angus


15


9,447




Argyll & Bute


16


7,910




Clackmannanshire


*


4,835




Dumfries & Galloway


14


12,722




Dundee City


9


12,158




East Ayrshire


*


11,092




East Dunbartonshire


22


10,759




East Lothian


14


8,340




East Renfrewshire


15


8,932




Edinburgh, City of


79


34,499




Eilean Siar


*


2,388




Falkirk


9


12,651




Fife


50


30,373




Glasgow City


84


50,403




Highland


82


18,986




Inverclyde


11


7,822




Midlothian


13


7,496




Moray


23


8,132




North Ayrshire


*


12,517




North Lanarkshire


43


29,704




Orkney Islands


*


1,776




Perth & Kinross


24


11,487




Renfrewshire


29


15,507




Scottish Borders


18


9,026




Shetland Islands


11


2,231




South Ayrshire


15


9,564




South Lanarkshire


38


27,413




Stirling


12


7,104




West Dunbartonshire


*


8,768




West Lothian


19


15,005




Scotland


778


447,583




  Notes:

  1. The data was collected by the annual school census in September 1999.

  2. The figures include:

  i. Children attending special schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, whether or not they have a formal Record of Needs. Pupil age was based on the census date of 13 September 1999.

  ii. Children attending mainstream primary schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, who have a Record of Needs. Dates of birth are not available for these pupils – all pupils attending primary schools have therefore been considered as within the scope of the question whereas those at secondary have not.

  iii. Pupils attending both publicly funded and independent schools.

  3. The figures do not include:

  i. Pupils with autism that also have another learning difficulty which is recorded as their main difficulty.

  ii. Any pupils with autism attending mainstream primary schools but who have not had a Record of Needs established.

  iii. Children with autism but who are not attending school - they may be too young to attend school or they may be educated elsewhere.

  4. Where a pupil attends a special needs school in one local authority but is funded by a different local authority, the pupil has been shown under the funding authority. All pupils attending primary schools are shown under the local authority of that school.

  5. In order to preserve confidentiality and in keeping with normal statistical practice, figures have been suppressed for cells with less than five pupils. These have been indicated by an *.

Autism

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4886 by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000, how many school age children are registered as having autism, either as their main or a subsidiary difficulty in learning, in each local authority area and what the total school-age population is in each area.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is provided in the following table:

  


Local Authority


No. of Pupils with 
Autism


No. of School-age 
Pupils




Scotland


1,050


785,448




Aberdeen City


56


29,886




Aberdeenshire


78


36,989




Angus


23


16,796




Argyll & Bute


19


13,808




Clackmannanshire


*


8,653




Dumfries & Galloway


17


22,460




Dundee City


16


21,843




East Ayrshire


12


19,201




East Dunbartonshire


26


19,513




East Lothian


21


13,756




East Renfrewshire


20


16,224




Edinburgh, City of


116


60,276




Eilean Siar


*


4,320




Falkirk


10


21,326




Fife


74


53,683




Glasgow City


108


85,193




Highland


94


33,689




Inverclyde


16


13,983




Midlothian


17


12,965




Moray


34


14,263




North Ayrshire


13


21,733




North Lanarkshire


50


52,938




Orkney Islands


*


3,167




Perth & Kinross


41


20,841




Renfrewshire


33


27,574




Scottish Borders


20


15,642




Shetland Islands


11


3,859




South Ayrshire


21


17,629




South Lanarkshire


48


48,793




Stirling


13


13,173




West Dunbartonshire


7


15,886




West Lothian


28


25,386




  Notes:

  1. The data was collected by the annual school census in September 1999.

  2. The figures include:

  i. Children attending special schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, whether or not they have a formal Record of Needs. Pupil age was based on the census date of 13 September 1999.

  ii. Children attending mainstream primary and secondary schools with Autistic Spectrum Disorder recorded as their main difficulty in learning, who have a Record of Needs.

  iii. Pupils attending both publicly funded and independent schools.

  3. The figures do not include:

  i. Pupils with autism that also have another learning difficulty which is recorded as their main difficulty.

  ii. Pupils with autism attending mainstream primary schools but who have not had a Record of Needs established.

  iii. Children with autism but who are not attending school - they may be too young to attend school or they may be educated elsewhere.

  4. Where a pupil attends a special needs school in one local authority but is funded by a different local authority, the pupil has been shown under the funding authority. All pupils attending primary schools are shown under the local authority of that school.

  5. In order to preserve confidentiality and in keeping with normal statistical practice, figures have been suppressed for cells with less than five pupils. These have been indicated by a *.

BSE Inquiry

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in addressing the lessons from the Report of the Inquiry into BSE and variant CJD.

Susan Deacon: It is the intention to publish at the end of January the UK Government’s interim response to the report. The findings of the report raise many important issues, including: properly informed policy-making; joined-up government; best use of advisory committees and expert advice; timely decision-taking; a consistent and proportionate approach to risk management and precaution – especially when dealing with uncertainty, and effective implementation of policy decisions. The report’s conclusions also emphasise the need for openness and better communication with the public about scientific knowledge and risk to inform consumer choice. The UK Government is leading the development of the response to the report, a process to which the Scottish Executive is contributing as well as considering the implications for its own procedures.

  The interim response will focus on actions already taken on these key themes, as well as addressing how to deal with the many detailed lessons that the report identifies. It will form the basis of consultations and discussions, enabling all those interested to contribute to the final response that the UK Government will make later next year.

  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is announcing today in the House of Commons that an independent assessment of current scientific understanding, including emerging findings, of the origins of the BSE epidemic is being commissioned. Professor Gabriel Horn has been asked to chair this review.

  The Executive will continue to ensure that the Parliament is informed of developments.

Education

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what training is currently available for teachers, in the light of the policy of mainstreaming, with regard to teaching children with autism.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive provides local authorities with over £5 million per year for in-service development and training of teachers, classroom-based staff and trainee educational psychologists working with children with special educational needs, including autism. There are a variety of courses available, including the Post-Graduate Certificate/Diploma autism course as well as skills-based training courses.

Education

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many special educational needs state schools have closed from 1997 to 2000.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is provided in the following table:

  


Publicly-Funded Special School Closures 
In Scotland: 1997-2000




Year


Number of closures




1997


1




1998


6




1999


3




2000


4




  Source: Education Authorities.

  Notes:

  1. These figures relate to schools that have been notified to the Executive as being separate special educational needs schools by the relevant education authority.

  2. These numbers do not include any schools that amalgamated with another school or any that were re-classified as SEN units.

Education

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many special educational needs units within state schools have closed from 1997 to 2000.

Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

Exam Results

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what further details it can provide in relation to its plans for an independent panel of subject experts to review all exam appeals which continue to give grounds for concern and, in particular, what the timetable is for the panel’s work.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive wrote to Directors of Education, College Principals and other heads of centres on 18 December inviting them to identify candidates whose appeal results continue to give serious grounds for concern and to submit details of these on a proforma to the Appeals Review Team by 10 January. These will be cases, primarily at Higher, where there is a major discrepancy between the centre’s estimate and the final award, where a result is very significant for the individual and the centre finds the award very hard to understand, or where there is an apparent significant inconsistency in the results received within a centre.

  For every subject, a review team will be established. Each team will be made up of at least three experienced, good quality markers who did not serve on Examining Teams this year.

  Each team will be briefed by the Principal Assessor and given a copy of the marking instructions used in the summer. For each case, the team will review the candidate’s examination script, and the evidence submitted by the presenting centre. The teams will write a report on each case. Where the team agrees with the original decision to reject the appeal, the report will explain the reasons for that decision. In cases where the review team disagrees with the original decision, the Principal Assessor will be asked to reconsider that decision. If the Principal Assessor agrees to change the original decision, a report will be prepared by the review team explaining why the grade was increased. If the Principal Assessor disagrees with the review team, the case will be decided by an Adjudication Panel.

  The adjudication panel will consist of three independent members. It will act as follows.

  Where the original appeal result is confirmed, the adjudication panel will send the report to the centre, and confirm the original result.

  Where it is agreed to change the original result, the adjudicators will request that SQA confirm that new result and send a report to the centre explaining the change.

  Where the Principal Assessor and the review team fail to agree, the adjudicators will make a final recommendation of award to SQA, who will be asked to confirm any new result. The adjudication panel will also report the outcome, with explanation, to the centre.

  The adjudication panel will also provide a report on each subject to the SQA Chief Executive, summarising the outcomes of all reviews in that subject, and making any general recommendations, or raising any issues that have emerged.

  The intended sequence of events is as follows. It is hoped to conclude the process quickly, but this is dependent on the number of cases that have to be reviewed.

  


Stage 1


Cases to be submitted 
to Appeals Review Team using the supplied proforma by Directors 
of Education on behalf of local authority schools, and by College 
Principals and heads of other centres directly. Nil returns required.
Identification of 
individuals for subject review teams.




Stage 2


Appeals Review Team 
acknowledges receipt of cases and assemble "evidence pack". 
Subject review teams set up.
Subject review teams 
briefed by Principal Assessor.




Stage 3


Subject review teams 
examine cases. Write report for each case either agreeing or disagreeing 
with original decision.
Where teams disagree 
with original decision, Principal Assessor provides a report.




Stage 4


Adjudication panel 
receives report of subject review team for each case (and, where 
there is disagreement, report of Principal Assessor).
Adjudication panel 
sign off every case and adjudicate where there is disagreement. 
SQA implement necessary changes.
Adjudication panel 
prepare short report for each subject.

Flood Prevention

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional borrowing consent to Perth and Kinross Council to enable the proposed Birnam flood defence scheme to be completed.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Funding for a flood prevention scheme at Birnam can only be considered once such a scheme has been confirmed by Ministers under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961. At present, no such scheme has been submitted to the Scottish Executive by Perth and Kinross Council for confirmation.

Health

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inpatients, broken down by NHSiS Trust, are addicted to benzodiazepines.

Susan Deacon: In each of the three years 1997-2000, there was an average of 3,375 hospitalisations in Scotland which were related to benzodiazepine poisoning. In around 0.5% (18) of these addiction was a factor.

  This information is not available for individual NHS Trusts.

Health

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has spent on prescriptions for benzodiazepines in each of the last five years.

Susan Deacon: The table below shows the cost of benzodiazepines dispensed by NHS community pharmacists from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.

  


Financial Year


Gross Ingredient Cost
(£000)


Dispensing Fees
(£000)


Total Cost
(£000)




1995-96


1,722


2,211


3,933




1996-97


1,729


2,081


3,810




1997-98


1,841


2,148


3,989




1998-99


1,891


2,175


4,066




1999-2000


2,789


2,301


5,090

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) poindings and (b) warrant sales it estimates will be carried out between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2002.

Iain Gray: It is not possible to make an accurate estimate of the numbers of poindings and warrant sales which might be carried out for the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002. This will depend on the practices of individual creditors and the circumstances of individual debtors.

  The numbers of poindings and warrant sales carried out in the last three years for which figures are available are shown in the table:

  





1997


1998


1999




Number of poindings


25,059


23,067


21,737




Number of warrant sales


609


513


433




  If the trend shown in these figures were to continue, one could expect of the order of 34,000 poindings and 300 warrant sales to take place in the two years to 31 December 2002.

Museums

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what new steps are being taken to assist industrial museums.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The National Cultural Strategy announced that we would support an audit of all museums and their collections, buildings and other resources with the aim of identifying their relative importance in national and local terms; and that priority in the audit would be given to the industrial museums. I subsequently announced a restructuring fund of £3 million over the next three years to help put the museum sector on a sounder financial footing, based on the results of the national audit.

  I have been considering proposals made to me seeking financial support for the three main industrial museums – the Scottish Fisheries Museum, the Scottish Maritime Museum and the Scottish Mining Museum – on the grounds that there is already substantial evidence that they are of national importance to our cultural heritage. I recognise that these museums are in particularly difficult financial circumstances and, after careful consideration, I am prepared to accept these proposals in principle.

  In considering these proposals, I was keen to confirm that the local authorities which already support these museums would commit themselves to maintaining their financial contributions at their current level for each of the next three years. I am delighted that Fife Council, North Ayrshire Council and Midlothian Council have pledged to do this. In turn, I will make available from the restructuring fund up to £420,000 a year for the next three years towards the museums’ running costs. The indicative annual figures for each museum are: Scottish Fisheries Museum - £60,000; Scottish Maritime Museum - £160,000; and Scottish Mining Museum - £200,000.

  I believe these museums have great potential and I am determined to ensure that the funding package leads to significant improvements at each museum to allow that potential to flourish. I am putting in place arrangements to address these issues including the potential for joint working between the museums themselves, and for the development of partnerships with other organisations.

  This initiative is undoubtedly a very significant step forward. It presents the museums with a challenge, but it also gives them a real opportunity to secure their future as part of our national heritage.

Student Finance

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of the Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance.

Ms Wendy Alexander: There have been no further costs associated with the Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance since Henry McLeish’s response of 22 March 2000 to question S1W-5137. The figure of £472,111.73 represents the final costs for that inquiry.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-11315 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 30 November 2000, what (a) actions have been taken and (b) financial contributions have been made by (i) the Scottish Executive, (ii) Scottish Enterprise and (iii) the Scottish Tourist Board over the last three years in order to support and influence the promotion of new and improved transatlantic air links.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Scottish Executive has no role in the promotion of new air services. As indicated in the answer to S1W-11315, the development of additional routes and services is a matter for the commercial judgment of the airlines themselves.

  Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Tourist Board work closely with Scottish Airports to support and influence all carriers flying direct into Scotland. Scottish Airports provide a package of direct support which covers both inbound and outbound promotion.

  The Scottish Tourist Board does not give direct financial contributions to the airlines. Their contribution to the promotion of air links comes indirectly through the £700,000 annually spent on marketing in the USA, both direct to the consumer and to the trade. All promotions signpost details on how to get to Scotland. Direct flights are highlighted and several tactical promotions are undertaken specifically with the airline for, for example, city breaks in the autumn.

  Following the withdrawal in 1998 of British Airways transatlantic service to New York, Scottish Enterprise supported the development and marketing of a new direct service to Newark, ensuring Scotland maintained an "all year round" service to North America.